Williams Was a Newly Graduated Dentist Who Worked as an Associate

Williams was a newly graduated dentist who worked as an associate dentist with Richards at Richards' dental office.Richards had been a dentist for nearly twenty years and had a large patient base.Williams was responsible for attracting new patients to the practice.Richards did not pay Williams a salary,rather,Williams paid a percentage of his gross billings to the practice's management company.
Williams felt that he was paying over too much of his profit and decided to leave the arrangement with Richards and set up his own office.He did not give Richards any notice before he left to open his own practice directly across the street.Williams also photocopied his patients' records and sent them announcements of his new location.
Richards was very upset by Williams' actions and decided to take legal action.He claimed that Williams was not entitled to set up a competing dental practice in such close proximity to his own and that Williams had no right to solicit patients or to misappropriate patient records.Discuss the rights and liabilities of the parties involved and render a decision.